The present invention is an improved chute, devised for conveying a bulk material from a higher location to a lower location.
The movement of bulk material, for example ores, sand or bulk foodstuffs, in quantity presents many problems. For example, conventional conveyors may be of limited capacity and may require continuous regular maintenance. Thus in many situations it is preferred to rely upon forced air systems to transfer such bulk materials. However the movement of material by air introduces other problems, not the least of which is that the particles conveyed may become degraded by collision and/or segregated into quantities of different weight or particle size. The generation of quantities of airborne dust is another severe problem; the separation and collection of dust arising in such systems entails the provision of equipment such as cyclones, scrubbers and dust collectors specifically for this purpose.
When it is desired to transfer bulk material of this type from a higher to a lower location, for example in loading bulk ore into the hold of a ship or into a storage silo, even when the transfer is simply by gravity, similar problems arise. If the material is allowed to fall freely over vertical distances, dust generation is substantial. If the material is discharged on to a heap at high velocity, segregation and degradation of the material occurs and dust is generated.
Attempts have been made to reduce these problems by providing loading chutes through which the material is required to flow along a non-linear path between staggered baffles. Such chutes, however, have had only limited success and can readily become damaged and/or blocked in use.